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Online reflective journals and portfolios (eJournals/ePortfolios) An electronic approach to practice-based log books and journals |
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Project Leads
Caroline Farrar – DMU Midwifery Dr Rob Weale – DMU Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology |
Overview
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Undergraduate Midwifery students at DMU are required to keep a practice-based reflective log book/portfolio. The aim of the portfolio is to enable students to have an up to date record of their progress throughout the programme. The portfolio is a record of learning, development of clinical skills and professional requirements for registration as well as a demonstration of the development of knowledge skills, attitudes and understanding throughout their course of study. By maintaining a portfolio students will be able to demonstrate the breadth and wealth of their experiences and competences.
Historically the midwifery portfolio had been in paper-based format. With a cohort of around one hundred students across all undergraduate levels, Midwifery staff were finding the portfolios to be increasingly cumbersome both as a means of recording and reflecting on practice and as an assessed component of the midwifery programme. To this end the Midwifery team were interested in exploring if the portfolio could be implemented in an online electronic format, in the hope that this would deliver a more efficient and effective mechanism for both the students in maintaining their portfolio, and staff in monitoring the ongoing development of the portfolio, and assessing the portfolio. To this end a small project was undertaken, lead by a midwifery tutor in consultation with a member of CELT to identify if the current portfolio could be re-developed in an electronic online format and if so, to develop and implement it in the Midwifery programme. |
Outcome
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A solution was identified, and an electronic version of the portfolio was developed and has been implemented into the midwifery programme.
The ePortfolio was developed using a Campus Pack Wiki, which is directly integrated into the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) – Blackboard. Setting up the portfolio does not require any specialised skill or technical knowledge on the part of the member of staff who is setting it up; it uses the basic functionality of the Campus Pack Wiki tool. NOTE: as of 2019 the Campus Pack software is no longer supported at DMU. The portfolio template is setup so that students have access to their own individual portfolio. Students cannot see each other’s portfolios, however all instructors on the midwifery programme can see all students’ portfolios. This is particularly crucial when it comes to moderating the assessment of the ePortfolios. The portfolio is located in the Midwifery programme shell rather than in Midwifery module shells. This way there is one centralized point from which all midwifery students can access their portfolio and all student portfolios can be access by all midwifery staff. Having the portfolio in a programme shell is particularly important as the portfolio is active from when students begin their studies to when they graduate. During this time student’s move across different course modules, which makes managing their individual portfolios on a module-by-module basis impractical. Screen shots of the Midwifery ePortfolio – click on the images to enlarge. NOTE: the example of a completed reflection is fictional. Benefits of the ePortfolio
For the most part Midwifery students have been able to effectively populate their ePortfolio with content.
When a student graduates from their course they are able to take the portfolio with them in a read-only format. This means that they are not able to continue to use it in terms of actively adding and updating content – they can only export it as a read only website. |
If you are interested in the exploring the potential for employing ePortfolios/eJournals/eLog Books to support teaching and learning, please contact your Faculty ELT Project Officer |
CELT Case Studies
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If you would like to have your eLearning practices captured and disseminated in a similar case study, please contact your Faculty ELT Project Officer
This case study was prepared by: Date of publication: March 2015 |